We use cookies to give you the best possible experience on our website. By continuing to use this site you consent to the use of cookies on your device as described in our cookie policy unless you have disabled them.

South Africa Law

Get your South African law questions answered by Experts

Ask a Lawyer,Get an Answer ASAP!

By continuing to use this site you consent to the use of cookies on your device as described in our cookie policy unless you have disabled them.

I received a sms saying that I won 133,000.00 GBP withPlatinum…

I received a sms saying...

I received a sms saying that I won 133,000.00 GBP withPlatinum Lottery Company award.I answered and after lots of Forms I had to fill in I was asked to pay a fee of 270,-- GBP ( equivalent of Rand 3.165,-- in a contact persons account. I paid and I received more Forms, also a fund release form for the bank. So far so good. But now they ask me to pay some more 1.210.00 GBP ( equivalent to 15,437.00 ZAR ) for the costs of a Telegraphic Transfer of the money.Is that a scam?Monika

A lottery is a promotional device by which items of value are awarded to members of the public by chance, but which requires some form of payment to participate. In the United States and most developed countries, lotteries are illegal except when conducted by governments (states in the US) and certain exempt charitable organizations.

Here are key points for avoiding scam lotteries:

1. You cannot win a legitimate lottery if you have not entered it.

2. In almost all cases you must purchase a ticket to enter a legitimate lottery.

3. You never have to pay to collect winnings from a legitimate lottery. You pay taxes AFTER you you receive the winnings. There are no other fees.

4. If you hold a winning lottery ticket, you notify the lottery (they do not notify you; not by email, not by phone, not by mail).

5. It is illegal under U.S. federal law to play ANY foreign lottery from the United States. Many other countries have similar laws. for example, you must be a Spanish resident to play the El Gordo lottery.

6. Since scammers simply invent new names for their fake lottery scams, it is more accurate to say that if you do not see the lottery on the list of legitimate lotteries, it is probably a scam.

7. If it isn't conducted by a government or government-authorized charitable organization, it can't be a legitimate lottery

THIS IS A NIGERIAN 419 ADVANCED FEE / LOTTERY SCAM !!!!!!!!

BREAK OFF ALL FURTHER COMMUNICATION WITH THEM ... YOU ARE ONLY GOING TO LOOSE YOUR MONEY....

An advance-fee fraud is a confidence trick in which the target is persuaded to advance sums of money in the hope of realizing a significantly larger gain.[1] Among the variations on this type of scam, are the Nigerian Letter (also called the 419 fraud, Nigerian scam, Nigerian bank scam, or Nigerian money offer[2]),[3] the Spanish Prisoner, the black money scam as well as Russian/Ukrainian scam (also extremely widespread, though far less popular than the former).

The lottery scam involves fake notices of lottery wins. The winner is usually asked to send sensitive information to a free e-mail account. The scammer then notifies the victim that releasing the funds requires some small fee (insurance, registration, or shipping). Once the victim sends the fee, the scammer invents another fee.

Much like the various forms of overpayment fraud detailed above, a new variant of the lottery scam involves fake or stolen cheques being sent to the 'winner' of the lottery (these cheques representing a part payment of the winnings). The winner is more likely to assume the win is legitimate, and thus more likely to send the fee (which he does not realize is an advance fee). The cheque and associated funds are flagged by the bank when the fraud is discovered, and debited from the victim's account.

.

Did they ask you to deposit an amount of money into their bank account before they can transfer your inheritance over to you?

This is normally the first sign that there is something wrong. In most jurisdictions and especially those in common wealth countries, this will be an administration expense and will be recovered from the estate, not from the heirs.

Are they using a free e-mail address?

If they are using an e-mail address like yahoo, hotmail or gmail, chances are that this is fake. Using a free e-mail service makes it very difficult to trace the owner of the address and they can escape detection like this.

Kindly accept my answer by clicking on the accept!

Kind Regards

JP

Attorney

Terms and Conditions: By your continuing in this conversation with me, or by your clicking "Accept", you are expressly agreeing to all of the following: (1) our communication is for general information purposes only and to assist you to discuss legal matters with your attorney in person; (2) you are not consulting me in my professional capacity as an attorney; (3) you do not seek to establish an attorney-client relationship with me, nor do I with you; (4) you will not rely on anything I say and you will obtain appropriate legal counsel via a traditional/office consultation with an attorney licensed to practice in the jurisdiction where your legal issue arises (5) by communicating with me in this public forum you are irrevocably waiving any right to privacy, confidentiality and attorney-client privilege concerning the matters discussed. You further separately declare that any payment made by you is not consideration for this contract, nor offered for any services rendered by me on your behalf, but is made as compensation for the obtaining as general legal information for further discussion with your attorney .If you do not agree with these terms and conditions, then you must advise me immediately.

Kindly note that you gave me neutral feedback and stipulated "Very Disappointing" i assume you mean you are disappointed that you did not win the lottery but this does not reflect that you are disappointed with me as an expert. Just wanted to record this for other customers reading this question and your feed back.

You don't need to do anything this is just recorded.

Thank you for your accept and trust that i can be of assistance in the future!

Good morning I have chatted to you prior I have been charged first charge is employing an associate that is family of another the Area was made aware and she turned around and said she did not know, f… read more

Hi I am trying to find my late fathers id, my mom lost all documents. Can you assist with this ? I am trying to apply for an abridged birth certificate for myself. Please advise Lloyd Brown(###) ###-#… read more

I requested Max Law to clear my name from debt review. I signed the contract with them and was told to clear my name will cost about 6600. I then did a payment arrangement with them for 6 months and i… read more

good day..i have dual citizenship//namibian and south african.I travel between these 2 countries quite often as a tourguide.According to the authorities in SA,I have to travel on my SA passport.This m… read more

The matter which I need assistance with is largely a civil matter. A new neighbour has subdivided his property in two portions. The new subdivision is landlocked and abbutts my property boundary line.… read more

HI Pearl, i wanted to find out how i can find out if my debt is perscribed in SA? i have had no communication from the creditors despite giving them my new details when i immagrated (multiple times) i… read more

Good day Christiaan K: We are Micro Lenders. We do our own Debt Collection in House. I have two questions, which I would like your help on: 1) We have numerous times requested from The Administrators … read more

My neigbor cat got into my place a complex home and destroyed my things around R2500 I got the quotes it relieved itself on my carpets and broke a window etc I asked them to pay for some damages now the husband is refusing saying i can go to court or do whatever I want he will not pay the damages the complex rules says no cats unless written persmission was given and no permission was given but he is going ballistic on me now and I do not know what to do … read more

Second opinion] good day..i have dual citizenship//namibian and south african.I travel between these 2 countries quite often as a tourguide.According to the authorities in SA,I have to travel on my SA… read more

My domestic worker has worked for me for 17 years, she has now become ill/disabled and will not be able to continue working. However, she is 39 years of age, therefore too young to go on pension. How … read more

I work in retail is was suspended on dereliction of duties no other details were given and now the company wants me to do a lie detector test I am afraid if I do fail the test as I am a nervous person… read more

Please help. i have been trying for the past three months to obtain a Divorce Decree Or Divorce certificate to use as evidence of my divorce in 2005. I have the case number ***** date of the divorce B… read more

DISCLAIMER: Answers from Experts on JustAnswer are not substitutes for the advice of an attorney. JustAnswer is a public forum and questions and responses are not private or confidential or protected by the attorney-client privilege. The Expert above is not your attorney, and the response above is not legal advice. You should not read this response to propose specific action or address specific circumstances, but only to give you a sense of general principles of law that might affect the situation you describe. Application of these general principles to particular circumstances must be done by a lawyer who has spoken with you in confidence, learned all relevant information, and explored various options. Before acting on these general principles, you should hire a lawyer licensed to practice law in the jurisdiction to which your question pertains.

The responses above are from individual Experts, not JustAnswer. The site and services are provided “as is”. To view the verified credential of an Expert, click on the “Verified” symbol in the Expert’s profile. This site is not for emergency questions which should be directed immediately by telephone or in-person to qualified professionals. Please carefully read the Terms of Service (last updated February 8, 2012).

DISCLAIMER: Answers from Experts on JustAnswer are not substitutes for the advice of an attorney. JustAnswer is a public forum and questions and responses are not private or confidential or protected by the attorney-client privilege. The Expert above is not your attorney, and the response above is not legal advice. You should not read this response to propose specific action or address specific circumstances, but only to give you a sense of general principles of law that might affect the situation you describe. Application of these general principles to particular circumstances must be done by a lawyer who has spoken with you in confidence, learned all relevant information, and explored various options. Before acting on these general principles, you should hire a lawyer licensed to practice law in the jurisdiction to which your question pertains.

The responses above are from individual Experts, not JustAnswer. The site and services are provided “as is”. To view the verified credential of an Expert, click on the “Verified” symbol in the Expert’s profile. This site is not for emergency questions which should be directed immediately by telephone or in-person to qualified professionals. Please carefully read the Terms of Service (last updated February 8, 2012).